


First Imprint

by MechaMax



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Blood and Injury, F/F, Fluff, Sleepovers, awkward dorks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-06
Updated: 2014-10-06
Packaged: 2018-02-20 04:08:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2414390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MechaMax/pseuds/MechaMax
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pacifica has been through hell and needs to borrow the phone at the Mystery Shack. That should have been the end of it so how did it end with her having a sleepover with Mabel Pines?</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Imprint

One last tree branch scratched Pacifica's skin – creating clawlike lines over her arm – before she stumbled her way out of the forest. She sputtered and whined, pulling twigs out of her not-so-perfect-anymore blond hair. Behind her the forest stood uncaring, as if she had not at all spent most of the day trying to desperately find her way back. Back to civilization. It had been hours since she stopped caring about what had kidnapped her and instead just wanted to get the fuck out.

Night had fallen and the darkness made the road she had stumbled out on foreign. Perhaps she had been there before, but as disoriented as she was it could have been her very own driveway and she wouldn't have been able to recognize it.

“Where the fuck am I?” she groaned loudly, not caring about her language. At home she'd be scolded for saying something like that, but her solitude and a day in the forest felt like excuse enough to ignore that.

Obviously her question wasn't answered. Not a single person seemed to be anywhere near this dirty old road. She was probably somewhere around Gravity Falls though, so she figured that it didn't matter much in which direction she headed. Soon enough she would find some building with a phone.

And sure she did. Too bad for her it was probably the last place she would have liked to end up in.

“Why?!”

She stood at the entrance to the parking lot in front of the Mystery Shack, staring at the old building as if it would with willpower turn into some other place. But it remained. Lights shined through a few windows, so at least someone was home.

For tired, hungry and hurt Pacifica Northwest it proved too much of a temptation. Desperate to get back to comfort she limped her way up to the front porch. When she stood there – awfully aware of her current state – she hesitated to actually knock on the door.

Her clothes had been ripped and was dirty. A piece of her dress had been tied around her arm to stop the bleeding from the deepest wound. Arms, legs, face – it was all covered in bruises and scratches. Though she had no mirror around she guessed that she had no make-up left from all from the involuntary crying and her hair probably looked like some kind of bird nest. Which was a pretty fair comparison as she had even at one point during the day had a bird in her hair!

So as she was standing on the old, raggedy porch, she started to question if she could allow anyone to see her like this – especially Mabel Pines! There were several reasons as to why that felt like the worst thing possible. The biggest one was that she had never looked any less than her best around the girl before. How could she allow anything except from that?

Desperate for help Pacifica finally settled, raising her hand and ignoring the tiny bit of pride she had left. Her hand stung as she knocked on the wooden door.

No one answered.

She banged it harder.

Still no answer.

“I know someone is in there!” she yelled as she continuously banged the door with her aching fist.

Only then did the lock click and Pacifica stopped. She stared at the door as it slowly opened. Just a crack. Illuminated from a light in another room she first only saw a silhouette, until the light from the porch lit up the person.

“Pacifica?”

“Who else, braces?” The harsh tone was all over her voice like a conditioned reflex.

The door slowly opened further. Mabel didn't let go of it, holding onto it like a security while looking at her rival from head to toe, taking in the unusual sight. Mabel looked like she had seen a ghost, jaw hanging loose.

“What happened to you?”

“I don't know. I just...” Pacifica took a deep breath and grabbed onto her hurt arm. She tried to calm her nerves and with that calm her temper. With eyes shut she tried to pretend it wasn't Mabel Pines who stood before her. “I need to borrow a phone.”

“Yeah, of course!”

When Pacifica allowed herself to open her eyes again, Mabel had already pushed the door open and stepped aside to show Pacifica inside. After everything she had been through that day it was easy for Pacifica to ignore whatever pride she pretended to have and step inside.

“It's in the kitchen,” Mabel told her and started to head out of the hallway. Pacifica followed on a safe distance, watching as the other twin suddenly emerged from the shadows.

He tried to whisper, but the quiet house made it impossible not to hear what he said to his sister while peeking over his shoulder at Pacifica who avoided to look back. “Why are you letting _her_ in?”

“She's just borrowing the phone, Dipper. Look at her. Something obviously happened.”

Pacifica didn't bother with the brother. Her whole body was aching and she was tired and hungry and didn't have time to mind about him. After all, the sister seemed to act like a rational human being and putting their previous history behind them.

“Here,” Mabel instructed as she flipped on the lights to a tiny room that seemed to be a kitchen. Because tiny sure was the word! At least compared to Pacifica's standard. “Phone is on the wall.”

Pacifica walked over to where the phone was, picked it up and put in the number.

Silence.

Complete silence. Not even a tune or anything.

“Something is wrong,” she said while turning to the door, just in time to see Dipper groan in the background.

“Here, let me.” Mabel walked over and took the phone from Pacifica. As she did their fingers pressed together for a short while, making Pacifica unearthly aware of how cold she was. Where Mabel had touched her skin burned. Even a cold bath would probably feel like fire right now.

Mabel fiddled with the phone, pressing random numbers and trying to hang up. “The line is completely dead!” she finally announced.

The girls stared at each other, Mabel growing more confused while Pacifica suffered a brutal flashback. Earlier that day she had tried to escape the grip of her kidnapper and had managed to latch onto a tree they passed by. Whatever the creature that kidnapped her had been – huge and terrifying – it had tried to grab her with such force that the tree had been knocked down and had fallen right over some power lines. Now, over 10 hours later, she could guess what those lines had been.

She shook the awful memories off her but quickly searched for Mabel's eyes again. “Does anyone in this house have a cellphone?”

Mabel shook her head. “Wendy has gone home for today.”

“O. M. G! Talk about blast to the past.” Pacifica rubbed her face, trying to think of something to do. Her head was growing numb though and made her only think about how nice it was to have other people around and to feel the warmth of being indoors.

“Maybe Grunkle Stan could drive you back?” Mabel looked over to where her twin was standing by the entrance to the room. “Could you ask, Dipper?”

“What? Why can't you do it? Helping her is your idea.”

“Because she's bleeding and I'm going to help her treat her wounds!”

With that Mabel grabbed Pacifica's hand and dragged her along, past Dipper who just glared at them from his place in the shadows. Most of the lights in the house was off, but Mabel knew where she was going as she dragged Pacifica with her up the stairs. Pacifica allowed herself to just blank out and be thankful for the warm hand that held her own so tightly.

They got the bathroom without having shared a single word on the short walk. Mabel used her foot to put down the lid and placed Pacifica on it, hands firmly on her shoulders. Then they remained there. Pacifica raised her gaze only to see the seriousness that didn't really seem to fit with the image she had of Mabel Pines. The serious face soon enough mixed with a crooked pout – something that made it look more like her. 

“What happened, Pacifica?” 

Those weren't the words of someone curious. Not a scolding parent or just a factual interest. Instead the words seemed to be spoken with an honest concern, not asking about the details of what happened but a worry for how it had made Pacifica feel.

That proved to be too much for the poor girl on top of the toilet.

Big tears bubbled up her eyes and she bit her lip as soon as she felt the first sob threaten. It didn't stop her crying though. Eventually it couldn't be stopped at all. She made ugly noises as burning tears rolled over her cheeks. Trying to wipe it away but only feeling it be replaced by more. She was a shaking, disgusting mess of tears and sobs and snot and whines. It was made even worse by the dirt and blood that mixed with it on her hands whenever she tried to wipe the mess away.

But she wasn't alone this time. As soon as the first tears began to fall Mabel was there to try and wipe them away with quickly ripped off toilet paper. With calming motions she rubbed Pacifica's shoulder, speaking words that Pacifica wished she actually registered. But most importantly of all she securely held one of Pacifica's hand.

It was only when Pacifica noticed the firm hold of her hand that she could take the first normal breath. In time she could calm down and follow the pace of the thumb that gently rubbed over her hand. As the storm of crying stopped, so did Mabel's words. Patiently she waited for Pacifica to show that she was okay.

“My face stings.”

Mabel flashed her braces in a smile. A relieved smile that Pacifica almost felt like returning, just to further make the point that she was okay now. No more crying. Hopefully ever! Her head had started to hurt.

“We should get that cleaned off.”

Reluctantly Pacifica felt their hands separate. Mabel fiddled with a towel and came back with it dampened from pure water.

“It's probably easier for you to wipe your own face. I don't want to hurt you any more than you already are...”

Pacifica nodded silently before doing what she was told. She didn't even have any patience to be careful, just desperate to get the tears and dirt off as soon as possible. No matter how much the cuts on her face stung she didn't stop rubbing and wiping to feel cleaner.

At the same time Mabel concentrated on wiping off dirt from Pacifica's legs, after asking if it was okay and getting a nod as an answer. Blood had clogged up on the ripped parts of her leggings and part of it had also dried into the black fabric. Pacifica didn't even react no matter how much Mabel tried to rub or accidentally moved the leggings and probably ripped up wounds hidden underneath.

Pacifica was a real mess, and even after they had gotten rid of the blood from her legs she still looked like a train wreck. Mabel kept quiet about feeling privileged to see the girl like that. In fact, she kept absolutely quiet. She dared not ask something that might be triggering again. If Pacifica started crying again Mabel would probably start too, both in sympathy and frustration.

“Do you have like... any bandages? I have this really deep wound here,” Pacifica said as she began to take off a piece of her dress that was tied hard around her upper arm. Though her dress was purple, most of the cloth was a deep, reddish brown. Dried blood.

“Yeah, there is always someone who gets hurt in this house.” Mabel tried to sound cheerful as she took out the first aid kit from over the bathroom mirror. One of the many hiding around the house.

The fabric had dried into the wound and removing it caused it to open again. Blood started to carefully make it's way down her arm and over the old blood she had tried to wipe away with the edge of her dress.

Mabel grabbed one of the towels and pressed it against the wound. As if they had some kind of synchronization going on, Pacifica took over and kept the towel in place while Mabel turned to the first aid kit.

Then there was a gentle knock on the door. Both girls looked there while Mabel said “come in”.

Dipper peeked in.

“I can't find Grunkle Stan.”

“Can't find him? Why?”

“I don't know. Either he's out or ignoring me in his room I guess.”

The twins stared silently at each other. Pacifica watched them, slowly starting to wonder if maybe they had one of those telepathic conversations that she had heard some twins had. All until Mabel suddenly turned to Pacifica again from the spot she was kneeling on in front of the toilet.

“Want to spend the night?”

“No, Mabel!” Dipper hissed from the door.

“What?” Pacifica answered.

Mabel's face suddenly lit up and she seemed to completely ignore the existence of her brother who tried to warn her with his gaze. And words, obviously.

“Yeah, if we can't call anyone or find Grunkle Stan the best thing is probably to just spend the night and try again tomorrow.”

“She can walk back!” Dipper argued, as if he was part of the conversation.

“You shouldn't use up any more energy tonight. You can have some food and rest after we patch you up and then you can get back home and let a doctor look at you tomorrow. What do you say?”

For a few seconds Pacifica allowed herself to think. Or to be more precise – to feel.

If she couldn't call anyone or get a ride, then staying would be the obvious choice. But staying actually meant that she would have to spend the night there. The question was about more than just sleeping. It was the house, the twins and the whole idea of staying with the Pines family. Just that morning it would have been a laughable thought. Being kidnapped by something surreal, having fled for her life and then wandered through the forest a whole day had helped to change her mind about that. Or rather, to be more honest with herself.

“Sure.” She turned her head and looked Dipper dead in the eye. “I'd love that.”

The boy frowned and shook his head before walking away, leaving the door slightly ajar. Once more it was just Mabel and Pacifica. Instantly everything felt... okay. Which was weird for Pacifica. As if the day had been nothing more than a nightmare and this was now just a calm dream. A very happy dream where Mabel would hold her hand and ask her to sleep over.

“Maybe you should take a shower? I'll put something over your wound now and then we can replace it when you get out. This is the only open one right?”

“I think so.”

“What about under your clothes?”

In an instant the blond girl turned red. A silence fell while Mabel fiddled with some large band-aid to put on the big wound on Pacifica's arm. Only once she was ready to put it on did she notice the lack of answer and looked up. It didn't take very long for the girl to realize what she had said.

“Oh, no! You don't have to show me! You can check yourself. You can put on something like this yourself. No prob. Haha, I'm butting in waaaaay too much here!” It was hard to cover up the nervousness in her voice and the flustered way she pretty much slapped the band-aid on. “Done!”

Pacifica was about to say something when Mabel jumped up on her feet and pointed to a shelf. “Towels are there, I'll bring a change of clothes. Take your time.”

And with that she was gone. Before Pacifica had any time to comprehend it. Not that she was about to argue, but she felt like there was something that needed to be said. As if she could actually explain why she had gotten so embarrassed over such a simple and honest question.

“Stupid,” she told herself while getting up on her feet.

Sitting down for the first time in a few hours had made her body more tired than she had expected. Her muscles had began to relax and with that reminded her that she was exhausted! And stiff. She really wasn't used to walking so much.

Carefully she removed her torn clothes, beginning with the now-one-legged-leggings. Underneath she had a few wounds, but nothing deep. More than anything she was covered in bruises that was still growing darker in color.

As she kept on removing clothes she tried to look into the mirror and see just how bad the damage was. Too bad that the mirror was just a small one and wouldn't even show anything beneath her breasts. So she didn't really see the bruise on her stomach, waist and back until she was already in the shower and borrowed some cheap soap. She didn't even have the energy to whine about the non-brand product.

The foam that quickly turned brown and red washed off her body and left behind skin that was splattered in even more colors from all the cuts and bruises. But the one that draped around her middle was the most obvious one, hinting at the hand that had been holding such a firm grip around her earlier.

A physical proof she didn't really need. A reminder of the terror and the loneliness of having been alone through it all.

Memories made her body start to tense and she felt tears burn in her eyes. With shallow breathing it grew hard to think rationally and desperately she tried to think of the best thing to do to stop whatever was happening to her.

At the same moment someone knocked on the door.

“It's me!” Mabel called from the other side. “With the clothes.”

Pacifica felt relieved and it showed in her voice. “Come in!”

The door creaked. “I'll leave it on the toilet. Take your time.”

Mabel just turned around to walk out of the room when Pacifica grabbed the shower curtain so that she could pop her head out while covering the rest of her. “Wait!” The girl in the middle of a step froze and they stared at each other. “Don't go. I don't want to be alone.”

Not really sure what she was expected to do, Mabel gathered her limbs and just stood there. “You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Then... let's... talk. While you shower.”

“I won't be long,” Pacifica said even though she didn't know how long it would take her to get through this. She would have to carefully clean all of her body and try to get all the dirt and blood and twigs out of her hair, using nothing but the cheap products on the shelf. Actually, cheap was probably not enough to describe products used by this family. But no matter what she would go about it quickly.

While Pacifica tried her best in the shower she listened to Mabel who had seated herself on the toilet. “Sorry we took so long to open the door earlier. We tried to make Grunkle Stan do it but he wasn't around and when we took a peek through the window to see who it was... we couldn't really believe what we saw. Dipper told me not to open. I'm glad I didn't listen to him.” 

So was Pacifica, but she only hummed her agreement while fighting with her tangled hair. 

“It's kind of weird though. Right now you, Pacifica Northwest, is borrowing my shower. In contrast to last time we met... I mean, last time we met we didn't even really meet. Our eyes met for a second and the next thing I knew you walked off.”

In the shower Pacifica stopped what she was doing. She knew exactly what Mabel was talking about. She could still see Mabel with her friends, laughing happily with an ice-cream cone in her hand. It had been a hot day so instead of her regular, knitted sweaters she had been wearing a flowery sundress. Which had been the sole reason as to why Pacifica hadn't confronted the girl.

Normally she'd have something to say about whatever Mabel was doing, her sweaters or her company. It wasn't hard to find something to laugh at, all just to cover up her own insecurity. When Mabel showed up looking like the sun it proved too much. Pacifica couldn't find anything wrong with the picture and in a panic she had simply bit her lip and walked away, even after meeting Mabel's gaze.

“Is it okay to ask you why you did that? Like... usually you'd have something to say, even if it would just be something like 'hey there, sweater girl'. I thought we were on better terms lately. Maybe that was just me.”

“No!” Pacifica panicked and grabbed the shower curtain without peeking through. Just holding it. “Like... it's not just you! Listen Mabel,” on the toilet Mabel tensed at the sound of her own name, “things don't change overnight.” That was not what Pacifica had wanted to say. Somehow it had been the only logical explanation she could come up with on the spot.

Mabel stared at the old shower curtain, watching the creases of Pacifica's grip. She did this until they eased and Pacifica seemed to go back her showering.

The silence that followed remained for several minutes. Pacifica hurrying to finish up while Mabel remained in her seat. Not until the shower went as silent as the girls did Mabel do anything at all. Suddenly she jumped up from her seat like a spring.

“I–!” Her voice cracked. She cleared her throat and tried again. “I will head outside. Outside of the bathroom. Not outside-outside. That'd be weird. Well, you know, so you can dress! That's all. Yeah... I'm... I'm going.”

“Ah, okay.”

Before Pacifica had even finished speaking the door shut tightly and Mabel suddenly found herself in a dark hallway. The very second she could breathe out and relax, her muscles suddenly gave out and she found herself falling to the floor like a carefree autumn leaf.

“Shit.” Mabel bit her tongue.

This wasn't good. In her chest roared a monster. Heat spreading through her limbs and flowing back and forth like a storm. Thumping out all the way to her fingertips and toes and making her whole body tingle like at the sight of newly fallen snow on Christmas Day morning, all to the smell of roasted chestnuts and hot cocoa.

It was the same pure kind of happiness.

With the sound of her name from bruised and cut lips she had suddenly learned more about herself than she would ever have expected. Mabel Pines was deeply and desperately in love with Pacifica Northwest and wanted nothing more than to hear her name spoken from those lips over and over again.

Being a teenager was weird.

  
  


  
  


  
  


Pacifica couldn't even count all the comments she had made about Mabel's clothes. There was always something asked to be said about whatever weird print or pattern she would have on and ever since the start Pacifica had enjoyed not keeping anything back. Often Mabel would puff up her cheeks, blush or pout. Each and every one of those expressions held to sole purpose as to why Pacifica even cared.

She loved them.

The whole history of making fun of Mabel's sweaters made it pretty hard to put on the pajamas that had been laid out to her. It was purple and covered in tiny, colorful paws with a bigger cat on the back and the text “you are purr-fect” on the chest.

It was actually kind of cute, but it was hard to ignore all the possible comments she could have made if Mabel had been wearing it. To even imagine that she would put it on made the whole thing a nightmare. She couldn't insult herself! Not even on accident. That's why she made sure to always wear only the coolest things and brands that no one would dare mock even if they looked odd.

What finally made her unbutton it and start to put it on was the will to follow Mabel as quickly as possible and find out why the girl had grown silent and been in such a rush to get out. While buttoning the shirt she watched her reflection with the intention to see how it looked, only to realize that a shower didn't magically heal her. She did look a lot better without the dirt and blodd and apart from some scratches and light bruises her face looked okay – if one ignored the very dark bruise that framed her left eye.

Curiously she tried to touch it, hissing as it pulsated in pain. So not only did all of her hurt but she looked like shit as well. Fabulous shit, but still shit. It would probably be a few days until she dared go outside and even then she would have to cover herself with make-up to hide it. And her hair needed to be cut instantly. It was frizzy and messy and even though she had tried to arrange it now as it was damp it seemed less willing to cooperate than usual and curled and messed about.

She longed to when she would be free from all bodily proof of this horrible day and would be able to feel her confidence reflect back to her. To stare at her own reflection now was just weird. The pale girl staring back at her seemed like nothing but a bad copy of herself.

Pacifica had to quickly shake that off. She looked away from her own picture and reached for the pants. From the corner of her eye she caught something falling, looking down at the floor to see pink floral panties with a lace trim.

That's when the weirdest thing started. What was weird wasn't the panties or anything of that sort. It was Pacifica's reaction as she stared down at them. There was nothing odd about them at all. Just cute panties. They just happened to belong to Mabel and had been worn by Mabel and suddenly images flashed through Pacifica's head and she was dying to know just what they looked like on their owner in real life.

Pacifica didn't even have time to feel ashamed as she snatched them and put them on as quickly as she could. She tried to see what it looked like in the mirror, backing away only to once more be reminded of her state and realize that she couldn't see past her waist. Instead she looked down on herself, bending and turning to try and see what they looked like on.

It didn't really matter though. She had seen herself in panties before, this was nothing. And it didn't help her imagination much either, apart from knowing that as she stroked the fabric she knew that it was probably what it would have felt like on Mabel.

Oh.

Wait.

What was she doing?

Pacifica stopped her hands, holding them out in front of her as if she had touched something toxic. Her heart began to race and she blushed like crazy.

Normally Pacifica had no problem at all pretending. Pretending that they were nothing more than rivals, sometimes they could be almost-friends. Pretending that it was all that she wanted them to be. She would pretend that her checking Mabel out from head to toe was nothing but looking down on her, when it was nothing but checking her out and taking in just how cute the girl was.

This time Pacifica had let it slip bad time and couldn't gather herself again. Not when she was wearing Mabel's underwear and had just tried to imagine what they were like on Mabel. Mabel who just happened to be the owner of said underwear and just happened to have left the room just minutes ago.

Embarrassed, terrified, and sort of happy, Pacifica gathered herself enough to put on the pants. The worst part though was that she still had wounds to treat so she knew she still had time to spend in that room, all alone with Mabel.

Several minutes had already passed since Mabel had rushed out and in a way it felt like a lot had changed during that time. Emotionally Pacifica was in another place. A place where she would have to actually make an effort to pretend she didn't care for Mabel, instead of doing it unconsciously.

As Pacifica now was fully dressed she began to roll up her sleeves to be able to clean the cuts and cover them. She went over to the door and opened it carefully.

“Mabel?” she called out only to notice that the door didn't open fully. She peeked out and saw Mabel on the floor, having turned to stare back at the blond girl. “You okay?”

“What?” Mabel almost yelled. “Why wouldn't I be?” She quickly turned away and her hair swayed around her.

Pacifica stared at her silently for a few seconds, doubting the answer. “Well, I could use some help with treating my wounds.”

“Of course!” Mabel suddenly sprung to her feet. 

In a flow of motions Mabel suddenly appeared right in front of Pacifica who backed away like a wrongly turned magnet, keeping an exact distance between them as she tried to hold back the happy chest-fluttering that would only make her blush. Suddenly the toilet was behind Pacifica who smoothly sat down and just as swiftly Mabel grabbed the first aid kit and started to gather the bandages and band-aids. 

“It should do with just the one on your arm and those two on your leg, right?” Mabel spoke quickly, amazingly not tripping on any words or failing to pronounce anything because of her braces.

“Yeah, I think so...”

Pacifica rolled up her sleeve as far as she could and held it out while Mabel peeled off the old band-aid. In silence she poured disinfectant on a cotton pad and paused for a long time before she did anything.

“This might sting...”

“I think I'm used to it by now... that shower was kinda painful.”

Mabel giggled. It sounded so wonderfully natural and to Pacifica it was enchanting. Since the first time she had heard that simple giggle she'd done her best to stop from hearing it again. It was honest and lovable, just like the girl emitting it. That was why she couldn't allow it to distract her. She had a facade to keep up. This time around though it was exactly what she needed to relax.

Mabel gently held Pacifica's arm before pressing the cotton pad against the wound. Pacifica thought she was ready but that giggle had made her relax a bit too much for the unexpected pain. Out of all the things she had been through since she stepped into the house this was the worst. It was impossible not to groan and whine, trying her hardest not to pull her arm back.

Mabel didn't push it too far though. She seemed terrified at Pacifica's reaction and tried to do it as quickly as possible, mumbling apologies. She hurried to put the new band-aid on and began to wrap a bandage around it.

“I just want to be sure you don't open it up during the night...” she mumbled as an explanation, even though Pacifica hadn't even thought of asking for one. She had no idea how to treat wounds herself. She had rarely hurt herself very badly and someone else had always done it for her. Not very surprising that she had never really bothered to remember any of it.

“So... next is your leg.”

Pacifica looked down and at the same moment she realized it. She had to take her pants off. Usually she wouldn't be very shy about something like that, especially not if it meant she could show off her brand underwear! But now she had Mabel's panties on and Mabel was the one who'd see them.

“Yeah. Right. My leg... I'll just...”

She quickly stood up and pulled down the pants. The deepest cut on her leg was on her thigh, colored deep red and looking freshly open. Before dressing she had used toilet paper to stop the bleeding she had accidentally started in the shower.

With brightly red cheeks Pacifica sat back down, avoiding to look at Mabel in an attempt to hide her own embarrassment. Had she actually looked down at the girl she would have seen that Mabel was blushing just as hard as her, if not even harder.

This time Mabel didn't even warn Pacifica and Pacifica didn't even complain. In a way they both seemed in a rush to get this over with. So in record time Mabel had cleaned and dressed the wounds and Pacifica pulled the pants back on.

Finally. The end. The end of all the embarrassment.

Mabel put the first aid away while Pacifica gathered her clothes. Finally this horrible day would come to an end.

During an awkward silence Pacifica was led through the house up to the attic. The walk seemed to take ages, but when they arrived Pacifica couldn't really remember it. Mabel pushed the door open, showing Pacifica inside.

“Is this the guest room?” Pacifica asked before stepping inside, close to dropping a comment about how rude it was to stuff guests in the attic. Then she actually saw the room. All the personal items and posters and two beds on each side of the room divided pretty obviously between brother and sister.

“Silly, we don't have a guest room!” Mabel raised a hand to slap Pacifica's shoulder only to stop with her hand held high. Couldn't do that to someone who was hurt. “Wait here. I'll go see where Dipper is.”

And then suddenly the room was empty, apart from the dumbfound Pacifica with her dirty clothes in her arms. With a big sigh she dropped the clothes where she was standing, not sure what was about to happen.

Was she really about to share a room with the Pines twins? Did she actually have to share a room? She couldn't even remember last time that happened. Had it ever?

Uneasy and a little anxious, Pacifica couldn't really make herself move. She remained by her pile of clothes in the middle of the room, glancing over to the door and waiting to see Mabel show up at the stairs across the dark room outside.

Minutes had passed when the steps creaked and the brown haired girl finally showed up, cheeks a little extra pink and her breathing a little heavy. She seemed to have been hurrying to get back.

“Good news! Dipper says he's sleeping in Soos' break room.”

“Great.” The word sounded fake. Not because Pacifica wasn't happy – no she was ecstatic! But Dipper not being there made things way more awkward. She had to actually try to keep the happiness down and pretend that spending the night in the same room as Mabel didn't make her feel like she just scored the biggest fashion award of the year.

“So...”

Mabel stood silent, smiling, waiting for Pacifica to continue.

“I'm sleeping... where... exactly?”

“Oh, you can just take a bed!”

Pacfica who hadn't really moved from her place in the middle of the room glanced over her shoulder and to the one at the left. “Uhm...” She took a deep breath before looking back. “Okay, I almost said 'no offense', but seriously... your brother kinda totally smells.”

“Right. Yeah, I know... You just take my bed. I'll... sleep on the floor.”

“The floor?!” Pacifica looked repulsed.

“Oh, no! Not directly. On a mattress of course. I'm used to it. Me and my girls have crazy sleepovers all the time!”

“Like... you actually sleep in the same room?”

“You never have?”

Pacifica shook her head and suddenly Mabel looked like it was the saddest thing ever. Which was kind of terrible considering that Pacifica had been through a living hell that day, lucky to get out of it alive and still in a shape where she could stand where she stood.

“Woah, girl! You and me are going to have our own, tiny little sleepover like.. right now! I'll get something to eat and drink and then–“ Mabel stopped talking and began muttering as she pulled something out from the closet and a mattress suddenly came flying out. Mabel reappeared only to stop in her tracks, with her smile slowly fading. “Wait, scratch that! You should sleep. I'm just being silly again. Ignore me.”

“No, I'm actually kind of hungry so... I don't mind.” In all honesty it was just a big fat excuse. Pacifica couldn't really feel her hunger anymore and wouldn't mind sleeping. But this was a chance she would most likely never get again and she wasn't about to let it slip through her fingers.

“Really?” By the look of it Mabel shared that feeling, though maybe not with the same motives. As far as she knew. Not that Pacifica had any real motive, she just liked to pretend. “I'll go get something to eat then! You can... prepare this. It's yours.”

From the closet suddenly came blanket and sheets that landed on the mattress, as if it had been planned. Pacifica doubted it.

With that Mabel once more left the room. This time Pacifica didn't just stand there but actually went over to the mattress. It was pretty far from the bed and if she was supposed to be sleeping on the bed she kind of wanted this mattress closer. For... personal reasons.

She pushed it with her foot until it was pretty much right next to the bed. In a way it seemed a bit too forward, considering the fact that just earlier Mabel had pointed out that nothing much had changed between them. But this would be the end of that! Even if it would mean to embarrass herself, Pacifica wouldn't leave this house without having convinced Mabel there was something good in her.

The start of it didn't prove very good though as she simply stood and stared at the sheets and the blanket and pillow she had been given. She had no idea what any of that was supposed to do. House work was completely new to her. Commoners without maids really had it hard.

Before Pacifica had even started to figure out what she was supposed to do Mabel showed up with a tray filled with a bowl of what looked like cheap candy, a pile of sandwiches and some cans of Pitt Cola. After a quick laugh she had put the tray away and moved over to help Pacifica.

For just a few wonderful minutes Mabel showed Pacifica how to do it. They were wonderful simply because they could smile and exchange pointless words like “you do it like this” and “what are these holes for”. It was probably the first time Pacifica didn't even think about insults indicating that the Pines' were poor even though the quality of the sheets were cheap as hell.

Soon they had moved Mabel's things from the bed and next to each other were fully prepared sleeping places for the both of them. Mabel told Pacifica to sit down on the mattress and without hesitating she did. For some reason things seemed to suddenly be going too smoothly. Had she perhaps fallen asleep already and was just dreaming this?

“You can start eating while I change.” She started walking over to her drawer. “I didn't know what to get so I just made some sandwiches. They're just with cheese, if that's fine.” Mabel didn't admit that she would probably be scolded by Stan later. Cheese wasn't for everyday use, he would often say. It was too expensive.

While Pacifica got the tray and carefully placed it in front of the mattress, Mabel pulled out one of the drawers and rummaged around until she found her most beloved nightgown. The pink sweater she had been wearing fell to the floor, soon accompanied by the shirt she had underneath. Pacifica would be lying if she claimed that she even tried to look away. Her eyes were glued to the girl's backside, to her brown hair that covered the pastel pink bra that Pacifica had only hinted for a–

OH SHIT!

The skirt slid off and there stood Mabel Pines in nothing but her adorable underwear. If that word could even suffice. They had the face of a pig and ears sewn into the top. Under any normal circumstances Pacifica would have gone with her fashion senses and marked on how those never had been and never would be in. This time she didn't.

“Those... panties are adorable.”

Mabel suddenly tensed. A quick peek over her shoulder told Pacifica the girl was blushing as badly as her. “Thank you...”

The girl hurried to pull her nightgown over her head, removing her bra skillfully from underneath the clothes. Pacifica clicked her tongue and cursed silently to herself. Perhaps it was her being exhausted that had her growing so bold and honest. No matter what, she had hoped to catch a glimpse of the bra too, curious to know if it matched. But it was discarded into a drawer and then Mabel turned around and just... stood there. Looking at Pacifica as if she expected something.

“You know,” Mabel began with the hint of a shy smile in her face. “I have a cat too.”

At first Pacifica raised an eyebrow, wondering what the heck the girl was talking about. As far as she knew the Pines only had that pig and the goat that ran around town eating stuff it probably shouldn't. Then it dawned on her and it reflected on her face. She didn't really have time to hide it before it was too late.

Mabel's expression began to grow confident. “Actually, I wouldn't mind showing you. Or maybe you'd rather be the one to wear them?”

Were... were they flirting?! Pacifica didn't really dare believe it. She turned down to the tray and grabbed the sandwich at the top and started eating. With that one question circling around in her mind she tried to come up with a good thing to say to see if they actually were. She came up with nothing and as she swallowed the bite she realized that she had been too nervous to even taste the food.

“Thanks for the sandwiches,” she finally said. Instantly she regretted the change of subject, not trying to flirt back even in the slightest. It wasn't even a smooth subject change! It was so uncool and unlike her! But she couldn't very well admit that she was dying to know what those panties looked like on Mabel.

“No problem.” Mabel either didn't notice or didn't care, since she so casually sat down next to Pacifica and grabbed a piece of candy from the bowl.

They sat silent while Pacifica munched away, suddenly feeling that hunger that had disappeared hours ago. It wasn't until she was almost done with her second sandwich that she noticed that Mabel had pulled her nightgown over her legs, hugging them tightly while resting her chin against her knees. Pacifica paused. Not for the reason Mabel seemed to guess. 

“Sorry, I'm staring. I didn't want to interrupt your eating, was all!”

That wasn't it at all! The girl just looked so adorable! Big, brown eyes and a crooked little smile she barely seemed aware of. In a way Pacifica envied how Mabel could look so kind so naturally. Not that Pacifica had ever been bothered by her own natural look or tried to do anything about it, but she did have a kind of “I'm better than you”-natural expression. In fairness too, because she always was.

Pacifica swallowed, delicately moving scratched fingers over her lips to rid them of crumbs. “So... What do you do on sleepovers?”

“The usual. Games, make-overs, talking...”

“No pillow fights?” Pacifica smirked.

“Haha, do you?”

“No. We have staff to do that.”

Both girls started laughing. Pacifica wasn't sure if Mabel took it as a joke or realized it was actually true.

“You're probably a little too worn out for most of that.” Mabel started to gently rock back and forth, lips pursing as if she was trying to come up with something to do. “Well, I do have some boardgames.”

“I think I'm a little too tired for that. Let's just... talk. What do you usually talk about?” The question was actually more a way to find out what Mabel talked about with her friends rather than figuring out a topic.

“Gossiping, clothes, music... boys...” For some reason Mabel grew awfully quiet at the last word. Her gaze lowered and the rocking stopped. Not something obvious, but Pacifica was in the type of mind set where she was reading way too much into things.

They sat silent for a few seconds. Pacifica with the excuse that her sandwich provided. Mabel simply just not saying anything. It was a silent that spoke of... something. Pacifica wasn't sure what, but she had a guess and she hoped that guess was correct.

“You don't happen to...” Mabel fiddled with her fingers, still hugging her legs. “... you know... have a boy you like? Right now...”

This wasn't fake, right? It was actually happening! Puzzle pieces slowly put themselves together and Pacifica was terrified that maybe she was just imagining those pieces and that this was just normal conversation that she was reading too much into.

It was real, right? Pacifica wasn't sure if she dared believe it. The tension was there, and not only on her part. Mabel avoided eye contact. Her cheeks were red. There had been hope in her voice that the answer would be negative. She looked nervous, as if Pacifica's answer would affect her in some way. That wasn't just friendly banter! Those were obvious fucking hints!

“No, I don't.”

It couldn't be fake! There were no way in hell Pacifica was imagining it all! Because as she slowly shook her head and answered Mabel's energy instantly returned, a deep breath let out and her shoulders releasing tension she probably hadn't even noticed.

“But there's someone–” Pacifica began but stopped herself. Because the moment she was about to throw herself at the opportunity she began to hesitate.

What if she really had only seen what she wanted? Maybe the relief was that Pacifica didn't have a crush on – god bless her soul – Dipper? Or maybe Mabel feared it was about a boy she liked? Suddenly it seemed impossible that they felt the same for each other.

“Someone?” Mabel's smile had faded but her eyes were as big as saucers.

“No, forget it.” Pacifica flicked her hair as a nervous habit. “What about you? Any sad excuse of a boy that has to suffer as your pray?”

The moment Pacifica had said that she regretted it. She clenched her hand, only to feel the skin painfully strain over her knuckles and the bruises she had there. It would have to suffice in waking her obviously clouded mind. But as she tried her hardest to come back to a calmer ground Mabel seemed to allow the rude comment to completely pass over her head.

“No, I won't forget it! I want to know if there is someone. I mean... it's fine if it's not a boy, you know. I won't judge. It's fine. More than fine.”

For as long as Pacifica could remember she couldn't recall ever feeling the way those words made her. In a way she was terrified. Most of all because of her pride. Somewhere deep inside she still had some left and it was terrifying her that Mabel might spread rumors. Not that it was likely, with the lovable and honorable girl that Mabel Pines was.

That left Pacifica with all the other feelings, all the hope and nervousness. But no matter what she had no idea what to say. Depending on the words she chose anything could happen and nothing scared her more than that.

There was something thrilling to it all. The violent beating of her heart that seemed to take over her body. Making her so caught up in the moment she forgot her body, sitting stiff and wondering. Slowly, slowly she turned her head towards the girl at her side.

Mabel's eyes seemed to glitter in the dark room. Pacifica found herself falling all over again and she decided that it was fine.

“Yeah, there is someone. Like... a special someone.” Pacifica tried to ignore her shallow breaths and the lack of proper thoughts in her head. “Who... isn't a boy. And I kind of intended never to say anything. But that girl is really stubborn and can't understand what 'forget it' means.”

Saying too much without really saying anything at all. Pacifica allowed the words to hang around in the air, not for a second looking away from Mabel. From the look on her face there was disbelief, but who knew if it was good or bad? 

“You know...” Mabel was looking down. “I only asked if you had a boy you liked so that if you said no I could ask if there was a girl. Because I happen to know that... there's a stubborn girl who can't understand a 'forget it' that's dying to let her old rival know that she's like... madly in love with her.”

Mabel peeked up, instantly met by Pacifica who was now the one to express disbelief. For Mabel it was a privilege to see that. To know that she was the cause. And to know that the mushy, anxious mess in her stomach had turned into a happy nervousness and that Pacifica probably felt the same.

“Cool.”

Not really what Mabel expected or Pacifica intended. But suddenly the world seemed to have collapsed and Pacifica had no idea what to do or say. Silence seemed like an awful idea and the world somehow slipped out. Unintentionally she just seemed to make the tension in the air even worse. Neither seemed like they would do or say anything. The room seemed both huge and exposing at the same time as it seemed way too small. Was Mabel really this close? Just a slight movement would make their hands meet.

Apparently Mabel thought the same, suddenly trying to nudge her finger against Pacifica's. The touch burned against Pacifica's skin, but this time not from her being cold but from the anticipation that stirred within her. Anticipation that for a moment gave her the courage to wrap a finger around Mabel's. Such a simple thing that led to more.

Though their fingers were moving eagerly to twin tighter together, slowly turning into actually holding hands, there was still this hesitating. As if every movement was to ask if it was okay, if they weren't going too far. Yet neither of them dared look the other in the eyes.

“Way cool...”

Pacifica's voice cut the tension that had somehow draped over them like a vacuum. Mabel's eyes darted over in an instant, feeling her heart beat just a little bit harder at the sight of Pacifica's red dusted cheeks.

They remained like that until Pacifica looked over at Mabel. Their eyes met and something changed. No more words interrupted the moment as they moved closer to each other, arms bumping together and giving them even more confidence. Without turning their bodies more than they needed to they leaned forward, shoulders pressed together and above them lips met.

It was over quickly. Nervousness holding them back as the way their lips melded felt too good. But though they both pretty much jumped apart with a loud smack it was still... sweet. As if there was more feelings to that short moment than either had expected.

In that moment Mabel looked perfect to Pacifica. Absolutely perfect. The blushing of her face and the downcast of her gaze. Shy and happy. Such a pretty smile that showed the metal on her teeth and made it seem like the most adorable feature a person could have.

Pacifica had never felt so much within herself before. Because her love was overflowing and she wanted nothing but to scream and wrap her arms around the girl at her side. To tell her that she was perfect and to kiss her all over her stupidly cute face. To feel how soft her hair was and know what the curve of her back would feel like. She wanted everything so much that it all embodied itself with warmth and fluttering and her muscles tensing in a way that she didn't know if she was holding Mabel's hand too hard.

“I want to, like... kiss you again,” Pacifica said, suddenly unable to look at Mabel.

“You don't really need to ask.”

“I wasn't asking.” In a nervous motion their gazes met, trapping each other. “It's just that... if I kiss you I'm not sure I can... you know... stop. Like...”

Pacifica breathed in, ready to continue babbling like a fool to try and smooth over how uncool she was acting. Mabel had another plan. For a split second Pacifica could see a grinning face, the next she had Mabel in front of her, arms wrapping around her neck and hugging her while their lips crashed almost painfully.

“Like you've wanted this forever and now it's real and there's like totally no breaks.” Mabel's bad imitation of Pacifica had them both smile and snicker, lips so close they were almost touching. And suddenly the tension seemed to ease.

This was fine. It was all fine!

Pacifica could allow herself to relax into the third time their lips met, to actually _feel_ it. Feel how the tense lips from their first kiss were melting, moving together. For the first time feel how a kiss could last longer and be more than just a kiss. To allow the movements and separating their lips with subtle sounds, only to longingly press them together again. A mere fraction of a second seemed too long, as if the touch was more important than air. Maybe it was. Because neither girl seemed even remotely bothered by how heavy their breathing was growing.

Suddenly the frustration Pacifica had been holding back could explode. Her hands were free to find out just what that brown hair felt like against her fingers, so thick and curly and tickling against her skin. Stimulating nerves she had no idea could make her feel so good, with something as simple as touching.

Mabel's back became free territory to explore. Both stroking the hair and digging beneath it and wrapping tightly around her back and forcing Mabel to climb into her lap. Bruises on Pacifica's legs stung but the adrenaline rushing through her body made her completely forget that she should be troubled. If only for a second more she could try and memorize the shape of that back then she would take it.

A moment turned into a minute, two and three. Time became insignificant. If anyone had told Pacifica that an hour had passed she wouldn't have questioned it. The only thing important to her was that it was real, that Mabel really was in her lap and in her arms and pressed against her lips.

“Mab– Wait!” Pacifica gently moved Mabel a little from her, reluctantly having to say a temporary goodbye to Mabel's soft lips. “My legs kinda hurt.”

“Oh! Sorry!”

With slow movements the girl climbed off, settling beside her without really letting go. She traced along Pacifica's arms and held her hands, facing the girl with emotions clear on her face. Before speaking Pacifica had been worried about telling Mabel to get off, worried that the girl would take it the wrong way. That worry was gone with the look in her eyes. That love and devotion that sparkled. Pacifica felt a bit silly as she guessed she probably looked the same.

“Yeah... sorry. I just feel like I can't be close enough right now,” Mabel mumbled, her eyes never leaving Pacifica but her head slowly angling down.

“Me neither.” Pacifica copied Mabel's movement. “I almost forgot about the bad shape I'm in...”

Mabel flinched. “Shit! Me too!”

They laughed.

It was all just so stupid. So weird. That the nightmare that had been Pacifica's day had led her to this. The fluttering happiness that Mabel Pines could give her and the knowledge that she felt the same.

“We should probably sleep.” Mabel sighed. “At least you should.”

“True.”

The grip they had of each others' hands tightened.

“I guess you should get into bed.”

They remained seated on the mattress. Time passed slowly and they just stayed, both obviously reluctant to stop whatever was happening in that moment. But reality was actually starting to catch up to Pacifica and the longer they sat without doing anything the more exhausted she felt.

“Right,” she finally said and began to move. It only took a slight shift of her leg for Mabel to get up to her feet without letting go of Pacifica's hands and then proceeding to help her stand by pulling. It was obvious that Pacifica was in pretty bad shape by the time it took her to actually get up.

The hesitation didn't end just because they stood up. It was like they were saying goodbye forever. Pacifica thought it was all just stupid. Very stupid. But oh! so real.

“You should get into bed,” Mabel mumbled. Her gaze climbed lower, settling at their clasped hands. 

“Yeah.” Pacifica couldn't think of anything else to say. Going to bed was the natural thing to do, having gotten up on her feet for that purpose and all. Complaining seemed childish, but accepting it was just too hard! What if she went to sleep and it all was just a dream?

They remained standing on top of Mabel's mattress for long seconds, growing more and more awkward the longer they did nothing but stand there. In the end they both had to face the fact that no amount of standing there could make Pacifica's body gain all the energy it lacked.

Mabel was the one to do the reasonable thing. She gently pulled Pacifica's hands while leaning forward to meet her halfway, placing a gentle kiss at the corner of her mouth. Pacifica had thought they were about to lock lips once more and gasped in vain.

“Goodnight,” Mabel whispered, her smile leaking into her voice.

Pacifica let out a disappointed sigh but followed with a smile to match Mabel's. Their hands said goodbye, dragging it out as much as they could before Pacifica stepped to the side and sat down on the bed. Mabel returned to her seat, fingers discreetly feeling out the heat Pacifica had left behind on the mattress.

They tried not to stare at each other but they kept stealing glances and sharing tiny smiles while fixing pillows and pulling away blankets.

The bed in itself might have been the worst place Pacifica had ever had to sleep. Yet somehow while she was lying there she couldn't think of anything else but how good it felt. Her whole body slowly relaxing and tiredness catching up to her. The moment her head felt the non-silk and Mabel-scented pillow she was mere seconds from sleep. As if she had not at all had trouble letting go of the other girl just a minute ago.

Mabel herself had only just pulled the covers over her when she had pulled them off again, sitting up and staring at the shape in the bed. The shape that was just seconds from sleep when suddenly forced awake, flinching as she felt the blanket lift, the bed shift, followed by a hand resting gently against her shoulder – all in the matter of just a few seconds.

“This is better,” Mabel whispered close to Pacifica's ear, answering an unasked question.

The warmth against her back, the sound of deep breaths, the feeling of a body pressed against her – all things that made Pacifica relax and quickly drift back to the state at the edge of sleep.

“Much better,” she mumbled right before falling asleep.

 

 


End file.
